Uproar at Bangladesh consulate

Bangladeshi expatriates raised a furore outside the Bangladesh consulate premises in Jeddah on Sunday due to frustration over their inability to get fingerprinted and obtain exit visas from Saudi Arabia.

With less than two weeks left for
the amnesty, the expatriates, mostly workers, were disappointed at the Tarheel
(deportation) as they were unable to complete the biometrics
procedure.

The crowd, however, was controlled immediately, Arab News said
quoting Bangladesh consulate officials.

The Saudi daily quoted Consul
General of Bangladesh in Jeddah Md Nazmul Islam saying, “Everything is okay.
People got angry because of the situation and the hot weather.”

“They
were controlled by the consulate and made to understand that those who have
registered with the consulate don't have to worry as their paperwork is under
process,” he reportedly said.

Islam said the workers had gone back to
re-form queues after the consulate had pacified them.

Arab News also
quoted Badar Alam, a Bangladeshi worker, saying individuals who want to return
to home were worried as they could not get fingerprinted.

“Almost 4,000
people came to the consulate. They were worried and angry as our turn at the
Tarheel is only once a week and the July 3 deadline is nearing. The consulate
should do something,” Arab News quoted him as saying.

Alam added that the
consulate has assured them that they need not worry even after the amnesty
period as their names have been registered.

“Though the consulate has
already issued their permits, the workers were disappointed at the Tarheel,
where they couldn’t complete the biometrics procedure. Today was our turn and
they thought all of them will get their work done, but unfortunately only 500 to
600 were fingerprinted,” Nazmul Islam said.

More than 10,000 Bangladeshi
workers registered for obtaining the exit permits, of which only 2,000 were
fingerprinted and only 1,000 obtained their exit
stamps.